Greetings from Daejeon, South Korea! I am currently sitting at a Paris Baguette, a bakery chain, near my apartment in Daejeon, South Korea. As of now, I still have no internet, but that will soon change. I have been in South Korea officially one month and two days. Within this time, I’ve met a ton of awesome people, have a possible love interest…well maybe two, nearly got hit by cars so many times that I have lost count, had a few teaching fails and triumphs, gotten abducted (nicely) by a few members of the “Church of God” and escaped being baptized into the church, gotten lost in Home Plus for a few hours, and went to Seoul to see a friend I haven’t seen in 11 years.  There has been many more adventures that I haven’t listed. Sometime soon, I will sit down to write and make videos about my journey here so far. What I can say is that within these 30 days, I felt so much growth. I’ve opened up so much, which is something I found hard to do back at home. I think it’s something that you can’t help doing. In Korea, you have to go with the flow of things. It’s definitely different in a good number of aspects than in the U.S., so there are a lot of opportunities for (mis)adventures. Those opportunities can sometime seem like  pain-in-the-ass inconveniences, but if you look at them like that all of the time, you won’t make it here. So if you do plan on coming to live in South Korea for a year, take heed in what I say: “La vida es como la espuma, por eso hay que darse como el mar.” I’m sure some of you know where I got that from. Here’s what it’s translated in the subtitles “Life is life the surf. So give yourself away like the sea.”  Yes, it’s from Y Tu Mamá También. I’ve always liked that line, and I find it to be true in this situation. You must be able to take the ebb and flow of things here. If you get caught up in the differences, then you simply won’t make it. So take each sharp turn as an opportunity to make your experience that much greater. Actually, take this advice and apply it to your life regardless of whether you’re living abroad or living at home. It’ll make the hard things in like a little more tolerable. That’s all for now. Hopefully, the next time I write, I’ll have internet in my place :)

Greetings from Daejeon, South Korea!

I am currently sitting at a Paris Baguette, a bakery chain, near my apartment in Daejeon, South Korea. As of now, I still have no internet, but that will soon change.

I have been in South Korea officially one month and two days. Within this time, I’ve met a ton of awesome people, have a possible love interest…well maybe two, nearly got hit by cars so many times that I have lost count, had a few teaching fails and triumphs, gotten abducted (nicely) by a few members of the “Church of God” and escaped being baptized into the church, gotten lost in Home Plus for a few hours, and went to Seoul to see a friend I haven’t seen in 11 years.  There has been many more adventures that I haven’t listed. Sometime soon, I will sit down to write and make videos about my journey here so far.

What I can say is that within these 30 days, I felt so much growth. I’ve opened up so much, which is something I found hard to do back at home. I think it’s something that you can’t help doing. In Korea, you have to go with the flow of things. It’s definitely different in a good number of aspects than in the U.S., so there are a lot of opportunities for (mis)adventures. Those opportunities can sometime seem like  pain-in-the-ass inconveniences, but if you look at them like that all of the time, you won’t make it here.

So if you do plan on coming to live in South Korea for a year, take heed in what I say: “La vida es como la espuma, por eso hay que darse como el mar.” I’m sure some of you know where I got that from. Here’s what it’s translated in the subtitles “Life is life the surf. So give yourself away like the sea.”  Yes, it’s from Y Tu Mamá También. I’ve always liked that line, and I find it to be true in this situation. You must be able to take the ebb and flow of things here. If you get caught up in the differences, then you simply won’t make it. So take each sharp turn as an opportunity to make your experience that much greater.

Actually, take this advice and apply it to your life regardless of whether you’re living abroad or living at home. It’ll make the hard things in like a little more tolerable.

That’s all for now. Hopefully, the next time I write, I’ll have internet in my place :)